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Talk:Roger Wilbraham

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Ague

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Ague is a disambiguation link on Wikipedia. Could you clarify whether he died of fever or malaria? Thank you, Yoninah (talk) 22:39, 12 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

My source just says "Died of an Ague 31 July 1616", which is presumbly what the parish records state. I'm no expert on English of that date, but the OED gives:

An acute or violent fever. Obs. esp. A malarial fever, marked by successive fits or paroxysms, consisting of a cold, hot, and sweating stage. [...] loosely or fig. Any fit of shaking or shivering, like the cold stage of ague; quaking.

All of which were current in 1616, though the general use was dying out. Presumably there was no means to diagnose the cause at that date, but it looks like a malarial-type fever is most likely to be meant. I'll try to clarify without straying too far into guesswork. Espresso Addict (talk) 00:00, 13 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]